Nevertheless, after Harry and Meghan decided to step down as working royals and relocate to the United States in early 2020, Charles has had limited interaction with his grandson. Their last recorded meeting occurred in 2022 when Archie accompanied his parents to the UK for the late Queen’s Platinum Jubilee celebrations.

During the Coronation last year, which coincided with Archie’s fourth birthday, Archie remained in California with his mother, Meghan. Despite this, Archie seemed to remain in Charles’ thoughts. At a post-Coronation lunch, a well-placed source revealed that the monarch thanked everyone for their efforts and reportedly raised a glass to his three elder grandchildren: Prince George, Princess Charlotte, and Prince Louis.

He expressed his desire to remember “those that weren’t there” and extended heartfelt birthday wishes to Archie, “wherever he was.” A source described the moment to Daily Mail as “apparently a very sweet moment.” Regarding Lilibet, it seems they’ve only met once—when she traveled to the UK with her parents and brother Archie in 2022.

During that visit, Lilibet was nearing her first birthday, marking her first trip to the UK since being born in California. Reflecting on this meeting, a source shared: “The prince [King Charles], of course, hasn’t seen his grandson Archie for a bit of time and so it was very, very, very special to have some time with him. He hadn’t met Lili, his granddaughter, and so to meet her was very emotional, a very, very wonderful thing.”

Charles did not attend Lilibet’s christening last March, which was held at Harry and Meghan’s home in California. However, it was later revealed that both Lilibet and Archie would officially be known as Princess and Prince, titles they now hold as grandchildren of the King.

Royal author Ingrid Seward commented: “Family has always been important to the King. He remembers his own somewhat fragmented childhood as his parents were always busy doing their duty. It is a great sadness to him he doesn’t see more of Archie and Lilibet.”

She added: “That is why he will never break ties with Harry. He does not want a FaceTime relationship with his son’s children. He wants to know them and be involved with their lives while they are still young enough to be able to learn from his wisdom. His cancer has made it all the more poignant to him as he knows that he won’t be around forever.”